With Malaysia’s exemption of import and excise duties on hybrid and electric cars expiring at the end of this year, a National Automotive Policy update is widely expected, and industry experts are predicting that a New Policy Could Make Malaysia The Next Big EV Market.

The infrastructure of Malaysia is one of the most developed in Asia and it has had one of the best economic records in the region, with GDP growing an average 6.5 per cent annually, making it the third largest economy in ASEAN and the 29th largest in the world. The country has shifted towards an industrial/manufacturing based economy and aims to attain developed country status in 2018 – most economists agree that it has all the right ingredients to achieve that.

Automotive manufacturing is a key part of Malaysia’s economic development plans, and in particular the manufacture and development of low emissions vehicles that will also help it to realise it’s COP15 commitment to reduce its CO2 emission’s to 40 per cent by the year 2020.